Rhubarb, that harbinger of spring… or for those of us living in Alaska, of summer! We’re thrilled to see it poking up out of the ground! I know, these little crinkled leaves don’t look like much, but once they get going, the stalks really shoot up! Since not very many types of fruit grow in Alaska (and strawberries and raspberries are still a long way off), we’re happy for any fruit-like substance that can eke out an existence in our backyards.

We’re even more excited than usual, because of the unusually warm and sunny weather we’ve had these last several days. Everyone I know has gone stark-raving mad, capering about in the sunshine and soaking up the rays as much as ever they can. I think we’ve gotten more sun this past week than most of us got in all of last year’s cold and rainy summer. Oh, does it feel good!

But rhubarb popping up in the garden does come with a certain sobering responsibility. Suddenly, I remember that I have several bags of sliced rhubarb in the freezer from last summer. And if I don’t use it up now, before the next crop comes in, I’ll be even more overwhelmed with rhubarb than usual. My rhubarb plants are divisions of my mom’s, planted over thirty years ago. I have no idea where they came from, but they are wonderful, with fat, tender, cherry-red stalks that produce all summer long (if I make sure to break off the flower stalks as they come up). If I’m not diligent about cooking and eating rhubarb and processing it to freeze, the plants are likely to overwhelm the entire front of my house.

So! We’ve been eating rhubarb crisp, apple-rhubarb crisp, rhubarb coffee cake, and rhubarb-apple pie. Here’s my recipe for rhubarb crisp, in case you still have some in your freezer from last year… and a variation with apples that I like even better. But if your house is in danger from being overtaken by a rhubarb plant, I recommend the former recipe. It uses more rhubarb.

When the rhubarb is coming on strong, it’s time to take decisive action. This recipe is based on one from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

half or all of the recipe of the crisp topping, below (to your taste)
10 heaping cups rhubarb, sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 cups sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a small pinch of ground cloves (don’t go overboard here)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make the topping and set it aside.
2. Combine the rhubarb with the sugar, flour, and spices. Coat a large gratin dish with oil or non-stick spray. Pour the fruit into the dish.
3. Bake, uncovered (without the topping), for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. (You can do this step earlier in the day if you’d like.)
4. An hour or two before you’re ready to eat the crisp, sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit. Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until the juices from the fruit are bubbling and the topping is brown. Serve hot or warm.
rhubarb-apple crisp

half or all of the recipe of the crisp topping, below (to your taste)
1 ½ pounds apples, peeled and cored
2 pounds rhubarb, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a small pinch of ground cloves (don’t go overboard)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make the topping and set it aside. Dice the apples, then put them in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Pour the fruit into a 2-quart gratin dish.
2. Bake, uncovered (without the topping), for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven.
3. An hour before you’re ready to eat the crisp, sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit. Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until the juices from the fruit are bubbling and the topping is brown. Serve hot or warm.
crisp topping

This recipe makes enough for 1 heavily-topped crisp, or 2 lightly-topped crisps. Make this recipe, and if you like a light topping, use half and freeze the rest until you want to make another crisp. Or use the whole amount of topping on one crisp.

Another note: the Loriva walnut oil is really fantastic; it’s roasty and toasty-tasting and very rich. Don’t bother using refined walnut oil, because it doesn’t have much flavor and the recipe won’t be nearly as tasty. Use butter, instead. If you don’t want to use walnuts, replace the nuts with an additional ½ cup of rolled oats.

6 tablespoons Loriva toasted walnut oil or melted butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup flour (whole wheat or white flour–whichever you prefer)
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients so you have a crumbly, moist mixture.

It’s a cliché, but true — if something looks pretty on the plate, it’s more appetizing and appealing to the palate! I’m not one for constructing elaborate garnishes — carving radish rosettes and deep-frying sage leaves have never been my forte. But I do love to serve vibrantly-colored and contrasting dishes together! This has two benefits: the plate looks lovely and the meal is packed with nutrients!

A classic combination is orange vegetables with dark greens, as shown here. I can’t ever seem to get enough of this combination in the wintertime. When I’m planning a meal, I try and imagine what color the dish will be, and then think about what foods would provide good contrast–in flavor AND color.

And then there’s the economical side of eating lots of colorful vegetables! If you’re steering clear of hothouse strawberries and air-freighted asparagus by eating vegetables and fruits that are in season, they are going to be pretty affordable. Cheaper than chicken or beef, anyway! Plus, winter season vegetables are delicious, and our bodies seem happy to eat all those wonderful roots, tubers and hearty winter greens!

This is one of my favorite suppers (not to mention great lunch leftovers), and it couldn’t be simpler. The slow-roasted caramelized sweet potatoes go so nicely with the savory broccoli. I encourage you to try my parsley pesto recipe–it’s got fantastic flavor contrasts, and it’s especially inexpensive because I use Italian parsley–you don’t have to mortgage your house to buy fresh basil in the middle of winter!

roasted sweet potato or yam slices

This recipe is based on one from Cook’s Illustrated. First, let’s get our terminology straight. Sweet potatoes like the ones I’ve used in this recipe are usually called yams in the grocery store–for example, garnet yams. Starting the sweet potatoes in a cold oven keeps the temperature lower at first, to allow more of the starches in the sweet potatoes to convert to sugars. Then the 425 degree final temperature browns and caramelizes them. Trimming the small ends of the sweet potatoes prevents them from burning. If you prefer not to peel the potatoes, just scrub them well before cutting.

3 pounds yams or sweet potatoes (about 6 medium), ends trimmed, peeled, rinsed, and cut into 3/4-inch thick rounds

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Toss sweet potatoes in large bowl with oil and salt until evenly coated. Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray.

Arrange sweet potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Adjust oven rack to middle position and place yams in COLD OVEN. Turn oven on to 425 degrees and cook sweet potatoes 30 minutes.

Carefully remove foil, and return sweet potatoes to oven and cook until bottom edges of yams are golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes. If they are very tender and brown, they are already done! (Whether they are done or not will depend on how fast your oven heats up.). If not tender yet, go to Step 4.

Use a spatula to flip slices over. Continue to roast until bottom edges of sweet potatoes are golden brown, and they are quite soft in the center, 10 to 20 minutes longer.

Remove from oven; transfer to platter and serve.

broccoli with parsley pesto

You can make this recipe with my parsley pesto, or just use prepared pesto from the store. Either way, it’s great with the sweet potatoes! And it’s great left-over, as well.

2 pounds broccoli

½ to 1 cup parsley pesto

sea salt or kosher salt

freshly-ground pepper

Make the pesto, or if already made and frozen, put a nice-sized hunk of frozen pesto in the bottom of a large bowl to thaw. (I usually put it in a big ceramic bowl and nuke it for a minute in the microwave.)

Peel the broccoli stalks if the skin is tough, starting from the bottom of the stem, using a paring knife–the thick skin will peel away from the stalk. Then slice the stalks into coins less than ¼” thick. Cut the florets into bite-sized pieces.

Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a pot that you can put a steamer basket in. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. When the water boils, put the broccoli stems in the steamer basket and steam for 4-6 minutes until barely tender. Check them every minute after 4 minutes, poking with a sharp paring knife.

Remove the stems, shake excess water off, and toss them in the bowl with the pesto.

Put the broccoli florets in the steamer, and steam for 3-5 minutes until just tender, keeping a close eye on them. Toss them with the stems and pesto. Taste for more pesto and add more if you like. Season with salt and pepper if needed, and serve!

Parsley Pesto

This recipe makes more than you’ll need for the broccoli recipe, but you can very easily freeze the extra. Make sure to label it “parsley” because you don’t want to mistake it for basil pesto, later.

2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

4 cups packed parsley leaves

½ cup pine nuts

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, chop the garlic with the salt.

Add the parsley leaves and pine nuts, and turn on the motor, beginning to grind the parsley. It’s OK if all the leaves aren’t incorporated yet.

While the motor is running, pour in the olive oil gradually. Let the blade run for a while to puree the mixture. It won’t be very smooth, but it’s hard to get the parsley pesto smooth, anyway–the leaves are very tough, and it’s almost impossible to get the blender to get it smooth.

Taste for salt, and add more as needed. Use what you’d like for tonight’s dinner, then scoop the rest into a freezer ziplock bag and freeze flat.

Originally posted on Alison’s Lunch.

alison’s lunch, broccoli, economics, food budget, parsley, pesto, recipe, seasonal food, sweet potatoes, yams, vegetarian

It snowed ALL NIGHT last night here in Anchorage! We got about a foot of snow, and it’s STILL SNOWING!!  Until a few days ago, I’d been cross-country skiing on the Hillside trails, and due to our meager snow cover, I’d quickly made a pair of rock skis out of my best pair of skis. (They are six years old, though!) *sigh* I know what will be on my Christmas list this year! Anyway, according to my brother, Ben (the manager of Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking), it’s high time I updated my gear from the Pleistocene era. He says that I should try the latest technology — skinnier tips, less shaping in the middle (or is that wider tips and more shaping in the middle?).

So after a leisurely Sunday breakfast (Meredith helped her dad make pancakes), Dan and I discussed the day. We decided that I would have the first ski shift. (We trade off with Meredith when we both want to ski solo.) He and Meredith would plow the driveway and our road up to the top of the hill, then I would scoot out in our little front-wheel-drive Jetta station wagon and zip over to Hillside for a slow and lovely trample around the trails. I got dressed and set off, my windshield wipers flailing at the thick clouds of snowflakes already obscuring Dan’s plow swath. My trusty little Jetta made it up the hill–and in fact, although none of the roads were plowed except for Dan’s handiwork, I made it the three miles to the trailhead at the high school. At which point, my little car plowed uphill into the huge berm of snow across the entrance to the parking lot and got firmly stuck. Whoops! I tried backing out, into the relatively clear main road, but I was completely high-centered! While my Jetta has great traction, it doesn’t have very high clearance. So I spent the next half hour on my belly, wishing I’d brought a shovel, burrowing packed snow out from under my car with my gloved hands. I managed to back the car out in stages, foot by foot. When I was about four feet from the road, two nice guys from the nearby sledding hill walked over and shoved me the rest of the way out. Thank you!!

I anxiously drove right home, luckily without incident, passing several cars embedded in their own snowdrifts, and zipped back into the garage. SAFE! Dan and Meredith, by this time making a snowman, were surprised to see me home so soon, but I soon re-emerged from the house with my gear. I popped my skis on, strapped on my poles, and skied off up the driveway! I had a gorgeous slog/ski on the bike trail through my neighborhood, and all the way back to the Hillside trails, where I did a short loop and then trudged my slow and snowy way back!

Here’s what I ate for lunch when I got home! It’s the perfect warming meal for a snowy day.

tomato soup with croutons

This tomato soup is a revelation: it’s yummy, creamy and rich without any cream or butter in it! It’s based on a recipe in Peter Berley’s book The Flexitarian Table. I think it makes a difference to use really good canned tomatoes and tomato paste, and I like Muir Glen. I also love this recipe because I can use gobs of local carrots and onions! For a meal, serve this soup with any kind of a simple green vegetable or savory salad. I like to make a double batch and then freeze the extras for a fast meal later, when I’m cold and hungry!

You can just toast the bread in the toaster for the croutons, and cut it into cubes (that’s what I did today!), or you can get fancy and make the garlicky croutons if you aren’t already starving-hungry, and can wait 20 minutes for them to toast in the oven.

The Soup

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced onions (3-4 medium)

sea salt or kosher salt

1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

2 medium carrots (peeled if the skins are tough), sliced

large pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons tomato paste

28-ounce can of whole plum tomatoes or diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water (I use broth left over from cooking white beans with onion and garlic)

two 2-inch strips of orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler

1 teaspoon dried sage

I slice the onions and carrots in the food processor–this is especially time-saving if you’re doing a double batch of soup. Just cut off the stem end of the carrots and push them down through the narrow feed tube, pushing with the pusher cup.

In a heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the onions have softened–5 minutes or so. Add the garlic cloves, carrots, and pepper flakes, lower the heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are sweet and juicy and tender, but not browned, 20 minutes or so. Check and stir occasionally, adding a few tablespoons of water if the vegetables are dry.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the stock or water, orange zest and sage and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and discard the orange zest. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. It’s easiest to do this if you’ve let the soup cool for a while first. Season with salt if you like, but I didn’t find it necessary because of the salt already added to the onions and in the canned tomatoes. Reheat the soup before serving, and add water to thin the soup if it seems too thick.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with croutons, and serve.

The Croutons

5 slices hearty whole-grain bread

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed in a garlic press

¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash the garlic with the salt in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the olive oil. Cut the slices of bread into cubes and toss them in the garlicky oil until the oil is thoroughly absorbed and distributed.

Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes, until the croutons are crispy and golden-brown.  Sprinkle with the bacon if you’re adding it.  Toss and serve immediately.

My friend Leslie at the Eat Well Guide emailed me to let me know that they have teamed up with the Consumers Union to present a Thanksgiving Local and Organic Food Challenge. They want everyone to visit the Eat Well Guide, find a local farm or market, and serve up at least one dish with local ingredients for their Thanksgiving feast. Then, we’re invited to post our recipes and experiences.

I wrote back to Leslie, “Right! I guess lots of farmers’ markets farther south will still be open!” Here in Alaska, it’s easy to forget that not everyone’s farm fields are covered in a nice thick blanket of snow, hibernating until spring in sub-freezing temperatures. The last couple of markets at our South Anchorage Farmers’ Market in October are punishing enough–there’s no way the produce or the farmers would last in an outdoor market in late November!

And likewise, Leslie had forgotten that our Alaskan markets are closed already! She wrote back, “To be honest, it slipped my mind how difficult this challenge would be in Alaska. Or is it even possible?”

Well, that definitely sounds like a challenge to Alaskans, doesn’t it? What Leslie might not know is how many nourishing and savory staples we can store all winter long! Potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips, red and green cabbages, onions, turnips, and parsley root, to name some! If we’d had a warmer summer, we’d even have hard winter squash!

But Leslie is right. Since the farmers’ markets are closed now, it’s not as easy to find local food. But there are still ways to get Alaskan vegetables! You can find Alaskan carrots and potatoes at our local grocery stores if you look carefully. You can order produce boxes from the new Glacier Valley Farm CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture). And if you want to go to the farm yourself, many farmers in the Valley have produce like cabbages, parsnips, beets, carrots and potatoes in cold storage, just waiting for you! Contact Mark Rempel (745-5554, mtrempel@mtaonline.net) or Alex Davis (746-0338, aktruckfarmer[at]hotmail.com) to arrange pickup of their veggies. And if you’re looking for a local turkey, you can call Triple-D Farm at 376-3338 to order one!

Come on, Alaskans–let’s show our stuff! Whether you log in and share your experiences with the rest of the web-world, or just share your stories with your friends and family over your holiday meal, let’s take the challenge, and be conscious of the local food we can procure, cook, and enjoy together.

These wine-braised lentils would be a fantastic vegetarian option for Thanksgiving, especially accompanied by the mashed potatoes and parsley root!

Parsley Root & Potato Puree (or, for the less adventuresome, call it mashed potatoes with parsley root)

I had never tried parsley root until last fall at the farmers’ market, when I bought some from Rempel Family Farms. Mashing the parsley root with russet potatoes made the richest, most delectable and delicious mashed potatoes I’ve EVER eaten–and all that without a smidgen of butter, milk, or cream! Just using the stock from cooking the vegetables works really well instead of milk or cream, because it’s so flavorful from the parsley root! Just season to taste with salt and pepper–the vegetables have lots of flavor all on their own. But of course, you can gild the lily if you like, and add butter, milk, or cream. As you wish! This recipe is based on one in Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors.

½ pound or so Alaskan parsley root (or substitute celery root or turnips)
1-2 pounds Alaskan russet potatoes (you can use Yukon Golds if you like, though)
sea salt and freshly-ground pepper
butter, milk, half-and-half, or cream (optional)

Peel the parsley roots. Scrub the potatoes, and decide whether you want skins in your mash or not. I like to leave the potato skins on, but if you want a perfectly smooth puree, definitely peel them first. Coarsely chop the vegetables and put them in a saucepan, cover with water, and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are tender (15 to 20 minutes). Scoop the potatoes and parsley roots out (or strain them in a colander), but MAKE SURE TO RESERVE THE COOKING LIQUID!

Return the vegetables to the pan and mash them, using the reserved cooking liquid to thin and loosen the mixture as needed. When smooth, add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve right away with your favorite stew or gravy– I’d suggest the wine-braised lentils!

Wine-braised Lentils

This recipe is one of my favorites– I love it over toast with sautéed spinach, but best of all is alongside a puree of parsley root and potatoes. These lentils are rich, flavorful, and wonderful, and they are beautiful, too, with the carrots and celery. They’ll taste even better the next day, and you can freeze them for later if you like. This recipe is based on one in Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen.

1 ½ cup French green lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced Alaskan onions
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced Alaskan carrots
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups dry red wine
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
sea salt or kosher salt
freshly-ground pepper
for garnish: chopped Italian parley

Parboil the lentils for 5 minutes in abundant water, then drain.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add the diced vegetables and cook over medium-high heat for several minutes, browning them a bit. Add the garlic, mash the tomato paste into the vegetables, then pour in the wine and stir in the mustard. Add 3 cups water, the drained lentils, and 2 teaspoons salt. Simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Add more water, to your taste, depending on how soupy you’d like them to be.

Serve with mashed potatoes (or mashed potatoes with parsley root), and sprinkle the parsley over all.